Anpan あんパン
Anpan is a soft baked bun filled with sweet red bean paste. The name joins an (sweet bean paste) and pan (bread).
About Anpan
- What it is: A sweet roll modelled on the steamed manju bun, but baked. Red bean paste is the classic filling; chocolate, custard and curry versions also exist.
- History: Created in the early Meiji era by Yasubei Kimura, a former samurai turned baker, at his Kimuraya bakery in Ginza, Tokyo. The original dough used sake yeast.
- Styles: Sakura anpan has a salt-pickled cherry blossom pressed into the top, the version presented to Emperor Meiji in 1875. Kuri-anpan is filled with chestnut paste, one of Japan's autumn chestnut treats.
- Where to try it: Bakeries everywhere, from neighbourhood shops to department-store food halls, and the Ginza area of Tokyo, where it was born.
- Did you know: Anpan Day is 4 April, the date the buns were presented to the emperor. The children's hero Anpanman has an anpan for a head.
SeasonAll year; chestnut versions in autumn
Known for it
- TokyoCreated in Ginza in the Meiji era
Checked against: Anpan | Wikipedia · Kimuraya Bakery, Ginza | Japan Airlines (Japan Travel) · Chestnut Foods: The Flavor of Autumn in Japan | Gurunavi.
Anpan on Shibuya246
Photos and stories from the blog, as they were written at the time.
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